My oldest daughter took the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) and made it into Stuyvesant HS ("Stuy"). The only way to be admitted into this prestigious public (free) high school is to take the SHSAT and score above the 8 Specialized High Schools' cutoff scores. Stuy has the highest cutoff of the 8 schools. Stuy used to be consistently ranked in the 30's nationwide, seems like they fell to #58 this year.

Principal Stanley Teitel retired after the scandal. Ran the school for 13 yrs.

Although I truly believe cheating is prevalent in any school, I'm afraid the pressure on my daughter to excel in Stuy may pressure her to cheat. Afterall, she is in a school that has some of the smartest kids in NYC as her peers.

Although I've taught her cheating will not get her far in life, I'm still a little concerned that the pressured environment may force her to cheat. On the flip side, she may be one of the smartest and won't cheat, but other students may copy off of her and the teacher may accuse my daughter of cheating.

Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing but this is but one issue that continually plagues me.

« Last Edit: October 10, 2012, 03:58:25 PM by Stickgrappler »

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"A good stickgrappler has good stick skills, good grappling, and good stickgrappling and can keep track of all three simultaneously. This is a good trick and can be quite effective." - Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny

SG - I teach 11th grade AP English at the #2 ranked public high school in San Bernardino County (the largest country in the lower 48). On one hand, the students are under enormous pressure, made even worse by the economy which is making college admission, and even securing classes once admitted incredibly difficult. By the same token, this is my 10th year as a secondary public school teacher; every year, the character/morals of the kids seems different. It's completely inconsistent. Some years, the kids are finding ways to legitimately complete inhuman amounts of work and activities, and then the next year, they are all copying their The Scarlet Letter essay from the same PH.D. candidate's blog. When it's your kid, and you're watching them work themselves to death, I can only imagine what that feels like. It's not very comforting in the moment, but you need to do everything you can to let your daughter know that her hard work will pay off. Even being an educator in southern California, I understand the admission process for NYC public high school system, and I have read about "Stuy"; your daughters achievements are already amazing. Please keep us posted of her progress.

BD - Having small children of my own, it's the idea of their molestation/kidnapping/murders that taps me into the mindset of taking horrible, American Psycho-like revenge on their attackers. I'm glad that very little in this life takes me to that place mentally, but the thought of someone damaging them with finality certainly does.

She was the same daughter who passed test to get into the Baccalaureate School of Global Education if I remember the name correctly. That school is also highly rsnked within NYC But she failed the interview as she was too quiet when teachers put her into a group and have them work together towards done project. Proud of her. Will keep you up on her progress.

Very truly yours,

-sg

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"A good stickgrappler has good stick skills, good grappling, and good stickgrappling and can keep track of all three simultaneously. This is a good trick and can be quite effective." - Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny